I am Coming for You
by What Is Hidden Stays Hidden
Summary: Dave was John's best friend throughout his childhood and is forced to move away with Bro to Texas in middle school. After high school graduation, John and Dave agree to meet up once more. (JohnDave) (Warning: NSFW)
1. Chapter 1

You carefully curl your fingers around the note that you held in your hand, which you slipped out from the side pocket of your suitcase. It has a long time since you had seen this piece of paper. To you, it is indeed a precious artifact. Out of all of the things that you own, this is your most prized possession. It wasn't just a "piece of paper" to you. It is a letter from your best friend, Dave Strider. This was the only artifact that you had left from Dave that you feel as if it is a part of him. It was a part of him that he left behind for you before he left. He actually gave it to you the day that he left.

Years have passed since you had seen Dave. You last saw him in middle school and then…the bad news came around. He told you that he would be moving halfway across the country…permanently...to a new house. He didn't dare call this new place that he was going to "a home." Dave always claimed that no place could ever be called a "home" without you. His life basically revolved around you and he didn't tell you why he needed to go. It was the _only _thing that he was never open about. His lips were sealed on that topic. He trusted you with everything, so it was a bit abnormal, but you accepted the fact that he would not talk about it. You assumed that there were some serious family matters going on and he would be moving with his older brother down to Texas. That had to have been the saddest day of your life. The memory is quite vivid in the very back of your mind. He waved out the back car window as his older brother drove him away. He had stopped by your house to see you the day that he left. Tears were streaming down both of your faces. You had fallen to your knees and cried even harder. Fellow classmates who walked past your house laughed at you, kicked you in the shins, and called you a "wussy crybaby." A large bully pushed you back onto the concrete and stared you down as you attempted to look up, but he saw the fear in your eyes. Your knees scraped against the pavement and your glasses fell askew a few feet away and he stepped on them, breaking them at the bridge...a type of break that could not be mended. It was the first time that you had remembered crying for a while. That was the day that you lost everything: what everybody thought of you and your best friend, who meant the world to you. Without him, you had no one. The other kids at school tormented you constantly. You were not like the average kid your age and they knew that. You knew that, too. Due to that, you were a easy target for harassment. Dave was always there for you through thick and thin. He was brave in a cool way. Dave was the type of person who would not let anything slide. To him, harassment was something to punch in the face as if it were the end of the world. Nobody understood you like he had and he always had your back. He was like a shadow, a good shadow. Always there, always loyal. He was always there to listen, to understand. Unlike most young boys, he understood that people had feelings, even though he was not always much for words. He could feel their hurt, their pain. Sometimes, you wondered if Dave went through a lot in his childhood and this was how he learned to understand people so easily. As you mentioned, his moving away (and his early years as well) were not a subject in which he lectured about. You crawled back into the house and for the next week after his leaving you refused to leave your room. You had no motivation to do anything.

In a way, you were just a bit…different…insecure. Then again, everyone then was. The kids always thought that everyone would think of the other as some sort of freak, so they constantly beat each other down to make them feel better about themselves, even though it was wrong.

You slip the paper back into the pocket, zip it back up, and lean back in your seat and sigh. For the past few hours, you have been riding a charter bus across the last state that you needed to travel across in order to visit Dave, who now lives in Texas in an apartment with his brother. The only contact that you two had for the past ten years was through Pesterchum and multiple short text messages. You only had a cell phone that could text (as you could not afford calling) and had not seen Dave face-to-face for quite some time. The thought of that makes you sad, but in a way you are happy that you at least have some form of communication with him. Talking to Dave "in words" was better than talking to "no Dave" at all. A tear rolls down your cheek at the memory. You wipe your face off with your coat sleeve and slouch in your seat, leaning forward so that you sat up once more and then you placed your forehead into your knees. Traveling is exhausting, even though it requires a lot of sitting. The most exhausting thing about it is the fact that you think too much and over-think things, which happens often when you travel as you have nothing else to do. Then at some point, you end up crying, like you are now. Thankfully, the only other person on the bus was the driver and he isn't paying any attention to your silent emotional outbursts.

The bus is rather quiet. It is late in the evening. You look out the bus window and peer up at the stars in the sky. The lights were dimmed on the bus as it is late, so you could easily look out without looking at any glare on the windows. You rest your chin on the small ledge on the bottom of the window and you look up. You've come a long way and Dave is waiting for you at the station. All throughout high school, you have waited for this moment. Dave and you have talked about this for quite some time. You two just _had _to visit after high school, when you would have more time to meet up. Your high schools had opposite breaks, which made communication fairly difficult, plus the time zone difference and the winter and spring breaks never overlapped. It eventually all added up to a very high level of "difficultness" (if you could call that a word) and isolation from your best friend. Both of your worlds collapsed. Life was just hard for you and nobody seemed to understand. Sometimes you didn't understand why everything was so hard. Everybody else that passed by seemed happy and they could have anything that they possibly wanted. You often felt alone. After Dave left back then, you felt even more alone than you ever had before.

You sigh and wipe the sweat off of your forehead as you wonder why the bus does not have any air conditioning. How could people survive on this vehicle? You wonder why you are wondering this due to the fact that you are the only person on this bus other than the driver. After all, who commutes this late at night and why would a bus driver have this route if nobody else uses it? At times, you over-think things to the extent of which it gives you a headache. At least you will be off of this bus in a few minutes. You are almost there, you can handle this.

The bus hits a bump of some sort in the road and you are thrown forward slightly as you grip the horizontal support rail to avoid being thrown forward even more with your sweaty palms. You could really use that air conditioning as of now. It is difficult to breathe on the heated and muggy the bus. The humid air was coming out to get you and you are not quite used to it. Texas was calling to you. To pass the time, you slipped your cell phone from your pocket and sent a text to Dave, telling him that you would be there soon. You were sure that he would appreciate it.


	2. Chapter 2

The bus comes to a stop at the station. You have had enough of sitting on an uncomfortable chair for a while. There is something about the seating in public transportation that gets to you…right in the ass. The lights on the bus flicker back on as they were turned off before. Before going into more details about your numb butt, you get up and stretch and scratch your head, causing your dark hair to become messier than what it usually is. After that, you grab the handle of your suitcase and pick it up. It is fairly lightweight and you step off the bus and onto the pavement. You feel a bit weightless and disorientated from sitting too long.

The climate is a cross between cool and warm and you find it difficult to breathe normally in the muggy and cool air. This certainly isn't like the breathing space that is in Washington, that's for sure. There is too much moisture in the air for that. You swear that you can feel condensation in the back of your throat.

Upon getting your phone back out of your pocket, you discover that you have a new text message from Dave, which read, "Be right there soon."

"_I thought that he would be here by now, why is he late?" _you thought and you slid your phone back into your pocket. Then again, this is no surprise for you. Dave is usually late. He's fashionably late and coolly late, for the most part. However, you are wondering why he isn't here when he texted you not too long ago to state that he was "waiting." It seems a bit odd. Despite that, you are sure that he will come around soon. You have faith in him.

You walk up to the brick wall of the bus station and lean against it, using the handle of your suitcase to wheel it next to you. This is at least more comfortable than the chair that you sat on in that bus. Speaking of which, the engine of that large vehicle starts up loudly and drives away.

The only other person at the station is an older man with a beard and trench coat. It is a bit odd that an older guy such as himself is waiting there so late at night and it is starting to weird you out, especially when he stares over in your direction. Yelp. This is just scary. You pray that nothing out of the ordinary happens. He only takes a glimpse at you. No harm done. You just hope that Dave arrives soon.

Dave always looked out for you, even though he is usually late for occasions. This reminded you of this one time when you were in elementary school when you had to give a presentation at an assembly in front of the whole school. This was back in the sixth grade, your last year before middle school. Dave was supposed to be there, and you remember quivering and peeping out at the audience behind the curtains, wiping drops of sweat from your face as you began to panic. He said that he would come backstage to give you a good start. So far, he had not shown. All you could think of was the fact that there was no way that you could talk about bullying and equality in front of the whole elementary school student body. You were a victim of those sorts of things, anyways. However, your teacher believed that your thoughts and words were intelligent and inspiring, and urged that you would come up to talk. There was no way that you were going to get out of this situation. You would just have to think of some positive thoughts for some good motivation to do this well. Only a few minutes left until this whole thing starts.

"Wait!" a voice had called out from around the corner backstage.

You turned around. Nobody heard that voice since the assembly had not started yet and the audience was busy with their loud chit-chat conversations. Was it?

"Dave!" you exclaimed.

He came running up the backstage steps and to your side and leaned into your shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late, I think I lost her," he said, panting as you put your arm around him to make sure that he didn't fall over.

"Lost her?" you asked.

"My teacher, she didn't want me to be back here," he explained.

"Why not, Dave?" you asked.

The thought made you really upset.

"Teachers are ridiculous," Dave said. "They make us stick with our classes all of the time."

"Right…teachers, and it's not fair, Dave," you said. "We are always being separated-"

He could sense that you were going through a lot. Dave already knew the gist of what went on in your life. The teachers putting pressure on you because they believed that you were the most intelligent student around here, the harassment, the sometimes feeling alone, the pain, and just everything.

Dave put his arm around you. "There is no need to be upset John. I'm here for you, okay. You have me and you didn't ask for this. Everything will be over, soon."

"It's just not been fair," you sobbed into Dave's shoulder, soaking it with tears. "S-sorry f-f-for crying on y-you."

"Shhh, it's going to be okay, I promise," Dave said coolly and calmly.

He let you go for a moment and you pull your glasses off a couple of inches from your face and use the stretched out fabric of your shirt sleeve to wipe away the tears.

"I actually brought something for you," Dave said quietly as he balanced on one foot and readjusted his shades.

"Really?" you asked. This made you feel a bit better.

"Yeah, of course I would," Dave said. "I would never forget to come back here for you."

Dave pulled what looked like a strand of metal from his pocket.

You light up. "What is it, Dave?" you asked as you poked at it with your finger. It looks like a necklace of some sort. Was the pennant a time gear?

"My brother gave this to me forever ago," Dave said. "I want you to wear it today, okay? He said it brought him good luck when he used to have it on and I think it might help you, too. He got signed onto a record company wearing this."

"Oh," you said slyly. You smile a bit. "That's pretty cool."

"Here, I can put it on for you," Dave said as he proceeded to do this thing. "See?"

He steps back and you felt a cool ring around your neck. You were already hot and sweaty from being in the un-air-conditioned backstage area and you rubbed the pennant between your thumb and pointer finger. It was cool to the touch.

"Thanks, Dave," you said.

"Don't mention it," Dave replied coolly and he smiled.

"There you are!" came an angry female voice.

"Shit," Dave said.

Dave rarely started swearing until recently. However, he just had to say it when the lady just walked in, who happened to be his teacher.

"Watch your mouth Dave, or do we need to visit the principle about this, again?!" his teacher said sternly as she bent down beside him and looked him in the eyes.

Dave shook his head and looked at his feet. He didn't seem to be feeling guilty. Instead, it was like he was shoving down his negative thoughts and emotions and that there were many things that he could to say. Many things that he could had said, but it was a school setting, so he had to really watch it. "No," he said finally.

"Good!"

"He just came to-"

"I don't care what he comes to do," the lady snapped. She turned back to Dave. "You need to stop running away."

You could tell what he must had been thinking: _"and you need to stop separating me from my best friend!"_

"Just come with me," the teacher said to Dave.

"But," you began.

She did not listen. Instead, she just took Dave by the hand and half-dragged him out. You were sure that behind his shades, he was crying about just as much as you were. Those had been some hard times.

You jerk your head back up and come out of your thoughts from years past and back to reality. The older man is not too far away. He sits on a bench, looking out into the distance.

You hear the sounds of shoes walking on the pavement behind you. This didn't require much thinking or realization. What a relief. Without turning around yet, you automatically knew that it has to be _him._


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey," he exhales in a calm voice.

"Dave!" you exclaim as you spin around, throwing your arms around him.

"It had been…a long time," Dave begins to say.

"It's been, so long," you add as you break into tears. It had been too long. Way too long.

"We're back," Dave says as he pulls closer to you. "We can hang out again, just like we used to back in the old days. There is no need to cry."

"You know how difficult it has been," you sob, drenching Dave's t-shirt with your tears. "Sorry for sprinkling my facial fluids on your shirt."

"It's okay and I understand, but it is all over," Dave says. "High school is a huge shithole and we both have climbed out. It is all good, now, trust me."

"Okay," you sniff. For some reason, this is so exciting, yet sad at the same time, and as the years went on, you became a bigger ball of emotions. It is just too much at times. Dave lets you go.

"Come on, we shall go to the apartment," Dave says as he grabs ahold of your suitcase and wheels it beside him. "We need to catch up since we have not talked to each other face to face in some time."

"Right," you say and you follow Dave around the corner of the bus stop building, which is locked up since it is after open-hours.

"Where are you taking me, Dave?" you ask.

"To my truck, silly," Dave says coolly.

"Oh, okay," you respond as you follow along.

Dave leads you back along the sidewalk for a bit and his truck is parked perfectly right next to the curb. It is painted a chrome-black color. You sometimes wonder how Dave has always done thinks so perfectly in a cool fashion, but that is how Dave has always rolled.

"You have a cool truck, Dave," you comment in awe.

"It isn't all that much," Dave responds. "The thing was a rusty piece of shit when I got it. It could break down at any moment. The only reason why it looks nice is because it got a new paint job. What is underneath is a whole another story."

"I see," you say.

"Come on, let's go," Dave urges as you lean up against the door and Dave maneuvers around you to stick the key inside the lock.

"Sorry," you apologize.

"Hey, chill, it's all good," Dave says as you scoot out of the way and then he opens the door.

You climb in. The fabric seats are chewed up a bit, but you are okay with that. Inside, it smells like a combination of old cotton chair stuffing and lavender Febreeze. You feel as if you are at home and you close the door and breathe in the air.

"You won't have to spend so much time in here," Dave says as he gets in on the driver's side. "The apartment is in the city and it is about five minutes away. No traffic at this time of night."

You continue to inhale the air around you.

"What are you doing, John?" Dave asks you.

"The inside of here smells nice," you say as you close your eyes and slouch comfortably in the seat.

"Dude, you are such a dork, but it is all cool with me," Dave says as he puts his key into the ignition and starts it up. The engine seems to grind a bit, but you are too tired to flinch or respond in any other way.

"So comfy," you drift off with your mind.

"When is the last time you slept?" Dave asks randomly as he begins to drive down the road.

You sigh. "I don't know." You are so out of it.

"Don't fall asleep, yet. We will be at my place, soon, okay?"

"Okay," you breathe. Of course it would also be wonderful to fall asleep inside Dave's lavender-scented truck.

"So, in order to keep you up," Dave begins.

"Yeah?" you ask.

"How was the whole graduation ceremony?" he asks you.

You pause for a full minute before you talk. When you are super tired, it is difficult to put your thoughts into words. "It was good," you reply, finally. "Best thing to take place, ever."

Dave laughs. "I wanted to get out of there just as badly as you were."

"You think?"

"Yeah."

"Plus, high school sucked," you continue. "I had no friends there."

"Dude, if I was there I would had changed that right away for you," Dave replies. "Besides, it sucks when there is nobody there for you. I didn't have many friends at my high school either."

"Maybe if you took off your shades, people would not be so imitated by you," you respond. "Just maybe."

"Just maybe," Dave repeats. "But, between us, we already know _why _I don't take them off."

"Right," you say. "I guess people would had made fun of you if they knew about that like how people harassed me about being soft."

"There is nothing wrong with being soft and understanding people," Dave replies.

"In high school, the other students told me that I wasn't manly enough," you say as you take off your glasses as you wiped off a speck of dust with the fabric of your shirt. "They said that I should have tried out for football."

"Who needs to play that, anyways?" Dave asks as you slide your glasses back on.

"I know, right," you say. "Who says that you need to play football to be a man, right?"

"True."

"I have other ways to do things and stuff to do," you begin. "I am not all that athletic, unless you count clumsily tripping over things a sport."

Dave laughs. "Yeah, and then you exercise by picking yourself back up again."

You laugh. "Yupp." Come to think about it, you have not laughed in quite some time. It felt good. The past ten years, unfortunate things happened, and therefore, there was nothing to be happy about. Now, there is.

"We are almost here," Dave replies as he drives down through town, which is almost deserted, even though it is supposed to be a busy city, but it isn't so busy past midnight.

"Were you speeding again, Dave?" you ask as you rest your cheek up against the window.

"Well, we get here faster, that is for sure."

"True."

Dave pulls into a parking garage and parks in a spot on the first level. "Last spot, too."

"We were lucky, I guess."

"Very," Dave replies as he gets out.

You follow him and he retrieves your suitcase from the back of your cab. He leads you through a door: the stairwell.

"We're on the top floor, John," Dave says coolly. "I apologize."

"That is okay," you say. "_Especially after being in a bus that wasn't air conditioned and now I'm going to get all hot and sweaty climbing up all of these stairs," _you think to yourself.

"I warned you about stairs," Dave begins as you both begin to trek the steps to higher elevation.

"Dude, that was the first time that you have said that in a non-funny way," you state.

"I'm sorry," Dave apologizes.

Five minutes later, you and Dave reach the top.

"You okay, John?" Dave asks.

You are a bit behind, panting. "Sure, yes."

"Okay, the inside of our apartment is air conditioned," Dave begins. "I hope that will make up for everything that you have gone through today. I just hope that Bro turned the temperature way down."

"I am sure that he did, hopefully."

"If he didn't forget," Dave says. "He can be sometimes forgetful."

"Oh, I remember incidents," you sigh.

"I know, right?"

Dave opens the door and a rush of cool breeze gets you.

"Thank you, Bro," Dave whispers under his breath. "Wherever you are, I am only being quiet to not wake you up."

"Wouldn't be a good idea to wake him," you say.

Dave leads you into the living room and he collapses into a sitting position on the couch. "…and I'm awfully tired myself."

"Oh, hmmm."

"You can sleep on the couch, here, if you want to," Dave says. "The guest room is a bit messy. I can fix it up tomorrow morning. I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, it is okay," you assure him. "I sleep on the couch a lot at home.

"Oh right, you've told me about that," Dave says.

"Yeah," you say as you collapse on the couch next to Dave. You scoot down a bit and stretch out into a lying-down position, resting your head on Dave's legs. They are awfully cushy.

"…and use me as a pillow?" Dave asks emotionlessly.

"Does it _bother _you?" you ask as you look up at him.

Dave smirks a bit and his face falls. "No, it is all good." He slouches down a bit more in a relaxing manner and you reposition yourself and use Dave's stomach as a pillow. He buries his face into your shoulder.

"Comfortable enough, yet?" you ask.

Dave puts his arms around you. "I am now that you are here."

"Shhhh, okay."


	4. Chapter 4

You are comfortably resting up against Dave…being close to him. He's like a squishy pillow. Sighing contently, you set your glasses on the coffee table and settle back in. You can hear the ceiling fan spinning softly somewhere off in the distance in the dark…

"Why do you have to leave?" you asked.

"Because I have to," Dave responded. "I didn't have a say in this decision. There's just a lot of shit going on right now that is beyond my understanding. My bro will take care of me. Don't worry."

"But this will change everything," you whined. "Nothing will ever be the same. How can I _not _worry?"

"I know, I understand," Dave replied. "Things won't be the same for me, either. Worrying is bad for you."

You and Dave were lying on your backs on the grass in your backyard. The sun was setting and there was a cool breeze passing by overhead. Being with your best friend under a sunset is one of your favorite things to do.

"You have always been there for me, Dave," you said. "…and you know that a lot of people seem to hate me. How will I manage once you leave?"

Dave rolled on his side and faced you and the blades of grass push up his shades a bit. The lawn had not been mowed in a month. Grass blades whipped in the breeze and pushed his shades off, revealing his crimson eyes, so honest and caring. They stared into your soul.

"You'll make new friends. I know that you are big target since people pick on you and stuff, but I am sure that someone out there will."

"I've tried before," you explained. "Most people by nature are rude. I'm not so sure why people don't like me and why they treat me bad. Don't they ever consider that other people have feelings?"

"I don't think all people consider that," Dave said. "But, I have been told that people who are often neglected and treated badly are treated like that because people are jealous of them and feel the need to act terribly towards them because they don't have self-confidence. You are just special, that's all."

"Thanks, Dave," you said. "I know for sure once you leave I am going to have to go back to counseling, but I am sure I will eventually adjust."

"Maybe you should try and get a girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend?" you asked. "Even _girls _make fun of me. How can I possibly manage that?"

"I am not sure, but life will go on, try to not worry about this all too much," Dave said. "Once I leave."

"Will I still be able to hear from you, Dave?" you asked.

"Of course," Dave responded.

"How?"

"We can write each other and talk on the phone whenever we are able to," Dave said.

"Okay, Dave," you said. "Either way, it won't be the same."

"I understand," Dave began. "But once I leave…"

You bury your chin into your sweatshirt sleeves and your eyes filled with tears.

"Don't cry John. You will be okay and I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" you sobbed.

"I am positive," Dave replied.

"Thanks, Dave," you said as you threw yourself at him in the tightest hug that you ever had given him and buried your face into his shoulder. "I-I'll miss y-you."

Dave hugged you back. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"Promise that you won't forget me, Dave," you said between sobs.

"I promise that I won't…forget," Dave calmly said as he elbowed his shades away into the blades of grass somewhere nearby. "Even though I am leaving tomorrow, I promise that I won't let our distance keep us apart."

"…and I promise that I won't forget you either," you said as you hugged Dave once more. Tears streamed down your face and he was crying as well. You never had feelings towards someone this badly before. Someone that you would be missing, who truly cared for you. You never had to cut ties with someone as special as Dave before. It couldn't be happening. Dave rarely cried. Usually, he did that behind his mysterious shades. He has always had a lot of feelings, but when he is in public, he tries to toughen up and act cool. Around you is a different story.

You wake with a start and rub your head. Shaking violently, you sit up quickly and clutch your forehead and wipe off the sweat. For a while, you have had visions in your sleep about the times that you spent with Dave before he had moved away. About everything for what he has done for you and about him leaving. Most of the visions were true past events, and this one was no exception. Ten years later, they still haunt you…in your sleep.

"Why does this keep happening?" you ask yourself and Dave springs awake.

"Dude, you are sweating, are you okay?" Dave asks as he puts his hand on your shoulder to try and calm you down.

You rub your forehead once more. "Yeah, I think that I am fine." After that, you grab your glasses off of the table and put them back on.

"But you are sweating, John," Dave repeats. "I'm concerned. Are you feeling okay?"

"Honestly, I'm okay," you repeat.

"Did you have a bad dream or something, again?" Dave asks as he hands you a tissue to wipe your face off.

You sigh deeply and try to calm down. "More like a bad _nightmare._" You try and hold back tears. Why does this always have to happen to you?

"You don't keep having those visions, do you?" Dave asks. "You've told me about them a while back…"

"Yeah, I do," you respond.

"They aren't ruining your life, are they?"

Your silence tells him so.

"Shouldn't you go and see a therapist again?" Dave asks. "I really am worried about you, you know that?"

"I've still been going to counseling," you explain. "Twice a week."

"Has it helped?" Dave asks. "If it isn't, you should go and find a new therapist. You deserve better than this."

"The doctors don't know what they will do about my visions," you say. "They've tried everything and they say that some people get them due to stress and traumatic events. As for me, I have experienced both."

"It is okay, I am here to help you, okay," Dave said. "We'll make sure that everything gets better."

"How can we do that?" you ask as you look up at him. "I already see professionals. What else is there to do?"

"I'll try and make it better for you," Dave says. "I'd take a bullet for you if I had to."

"You have done so much for me, Dave," you say. "…and for that, I thank you. You've always been there for me throughout my life…the good, the bad…no matter what."

Dave blushes. "Yah, that is what I am here for."

"Let's just forget about my problems and do something fun for a bit, okay? We should at least be happy."

"Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

"..but I am glad that you do everything that you can for me," you continue as you sink back into the couch. "Promise? Let's forget about video games and fun things for a bit. We need to talk."

"Promise," Dave responds. "Go ahead. You were saying?"

"Okay," you say in an almost-whisper. You almost forget what you are going to say, but then Dave's voice cuts off your train of thought.

"John?" Dave asks.

"Yeah," you respond as you sit back up.

"Maybe the only reason that you have been upset throughout your life is because I am the only person in your life that cares for you," Dave explains. "And I wasn't there for you _physically _the past few years."

You give it some thought. "I suppose so. What does this really have to do with the problems that relate to the fact that not very many people like me?"

"Everything," he says coolly.

"Everything?" you ask. "Dave you are making no sense."

He shushes you. "It makes _perfect _sense."

"Really?" you ask as you scoot towards him a bit. Were you hearing this correctly? "How so?"

"Face it, John," Dave forces out the words. "The only person that gives you care and affection was and is _me_...for the most part. People need other people to survive. If they don't get attention from other people, you, you-"

"You, what, Dave?" you urge as you lean in closer to hear as you can sense Dave's voice trailing off out of soft-spoken concern. "Tell me."

"You die," he finishes in a whisper.

"Die?" you ask in shock and you gasp. "Dave, how in the hell would you know this?"

"Face it John, you have been lonely without me, not to sound like a needy attention-whore or anything," Dave says as he combs this fingers through his bangs. "People need other people or else they can go through social withdrawals and eventually get…_heart disease. _Fuck, I would never want that for you._"_

"You are right, Dave," you admit, as you pull out strands of your hair non-intentionally out of stress. "I have been lonely!"

"I thought so. It's just-"

"What do I do?" you ask as you panic, cutting him off. "I don't want to die!"

"I know, John, I don't want you to go again, either, and I will not let that happen" Dave says, relaxing his shoulder muscles and leaning into his knees as he looks back up at you. He pauses and reaches at your hands and gently pulls them down towards your lap to avoid having you rip out any more of your hair. "I know what can be done," he says calmly as he rests his hands on his knees.

"To go?" you ask. "What are you even saying?"

"I don't want you to leave, John," Dave said. "Ever again. You have gone too long without me and you have suffered because of it."

Your eyes widen in awe. "It makes perfect sense." Your face falls once more and you become serious. "So, what do I do about this?"

"You don't have to do anything or at least not very…" He pauses. "_Much."_

You are quiet. In a way, you can see where this is going to go and your eyes fill with tears. Silently, your heart is overwhelmed with joy…to the extent of tears.

"Don't do that, John," Dave says as you try to hold them back. He puts his arm around your neck and you rest your head on Dave's shoulder. "So…"

You sit in silence, still relaxing upon Dave.

"I have seen you suffer enough," Dave continues as he pats you on the back. "It is not your fault and I can't bear to see you suffer anymore. It hurts me as much as it hurts you."

"I don't want it to hurt you, Dave," you sob.

"I know," he goes on. "This is why I have one request."

"Whatever it takes, Dave. You are my best friend and I will do anything for you," you say in a muffled voice into the fabric of his shirt.

"You lived your whole life with me in it, even though we were apart for some time. Also, you came back... to me."

"Uh-huh," you say.

"So," Dave whispers.

You lift your head from Dave's shoulder and pull your neck away. Breathing room…

"Stay with me," Dave says.

He sounds serious, but in his cool manner.

"You mean, stay as in stay-stay?" you ask.

"Yes, John," Dave says. "I will take care of you. We have meant _everything _for each other."

"You've meant the world to me, too, Dave," you reply.

"You _are _my world to me," Dave says. He leans into you. "I would like it to _stay _that way."

"Of course and I will do whatever it takes."

This is a new beginning. You feel _different. _It was as if all of the problems hovering around you are starting to vanish, but this is only the beginning. Were you feeling as if Dave is…more than a friend?

"Good," Dave sighs with relief. "I promise that I will make sure that no harm comes to you. After moving, I couldn't protect you, but now…all separation shall end. It's all over. Just us, now. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Us?" you ask. You want to be sure that Dave is thinking the same things that you are thinking.

"Yeah, us."

"Anything else?" you ask.

"That's not all that I have to say," Dave begins.

"Not all?"

"I have a confession to make," Dave says. He smirks a bit.

"Okay, Dave, I can mentally guess this, but I will allow you to say it."

"John, I see us as more than being just friends," he begins and then trails off for a moment. "So you are telling me?"

"It's just…"

"Mmhmm."

His voice is a bit shaky and you can tell that he is nervous about this. Honestly, you are nervous, too, and that was okay. You touch your fingers to Dave's soft hand to ease his nerves. It is obvious that he is scared shitless.

"John, I _love _you and I want to be with you," Dave finally forces out as he grips your hand. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is okay with me," you say. "In a way, I have always felt close to you, Dave."

"Well, _closer _is _better,_" Dave begins to say. "Am I right?"

Your stomach does a flop. This is all happening so fast…faster than how you imagined it would have been. Being together with Dave seemed to be a fantasy in which would never be able to take place, but it is happening…because it is _real._ There is no need for words. You just stare at Dave and he looks back down at you. As he looks down and positions himself on the couch to look at you, his shades slide off the bridge of his nose and they fall awkwardly on his lap, but he coolly brushes that off as if it were nothing. Dave touches a single pointer finger under your neckline and stokes all the way up towards your chin, pushing you to look into his eyes.

"You are right, Dave," you say.

"I know that I am choosing the best for you," Dave continues on. "That was all that I ever wanted." He pulls you in closer, staring into your eyes.

With that and without thinking, your hand wanders around Dave's waist while you hold the other against the back of Dave's head, entangling your fingers through his albino-blonde hair as he closes his eyes and leans in toward you. You feel Dave's eyelashes brush up against your cheeks as he closes them and he comes up at eye-level. He places his hands around your back and straddles you, touching his mouth to yours, soft lips latching onto you. His tongue becomes entangles with your own and you shift forward as discretely as you move onto Dave's lap. He leans back against your weight, softly falling onto the couch. You land on top of him, somehow managing to not break the kiss and you both are chest to chest, kissing. The couch cushions sink in and make little noises under the combined weight. You are now making out with your best friend, perfect. Dave breaks apart from you for a moment.

"Mmm, John," Dave moans.

"Was that _real_?" you ask he breaks apart from you to breathe.

Dave takes a moment to catch his breath. "We're in reality, John. Everything that happens between us is _real_."

You gently pinch Dave's hair between your thumb and pointer finger and take a moment to toss your glasses into some random aimless direction across the room, effortlessly. With that, you pull him in for more.


	6. Chapter 6

You sit peacefully out on the roof of the apartment complex. The sun is setting and a gentle breeze flows through your messy hair. It has been two weeks since yours and Dave's make out session in his living room. Both of you could care less about what happened between the two of you, much less what anyone else thought. Bro had given Dave a hard time (as he eventually found out _everything_) and you hope that he doesn't give Dave a hard time like how everyone else gave you a hard time back in high school. You wouldn't want that for Dave for the world. You suffered enough and you didn't want Dave to suffer like you had. Dave could come up here at any moment.

Trying to not be impatient, you stretch out your arms and lean back while tilting your head forward, looking down at the busy downtown life below. You see crowds of people walking on the sidewalk and the rush-hour traffic. Forty floors up and you are staring down. You are such a daredevil. To pass some time, you pop in your ear buds and listen to some random songs on your music player. So far, you plan on not returning back to Washington. You liked it better here: the busy life, the humid weather (although it took some getting used to), and most importantly: Dave. Why would you ever want to leave? Ever?

"Hey," a voice breathes softly on the back of your neck.

You turn around. "Dave," you say in a slightly mysterious voice.

"Hey, John," he says casually as he gently drapes his arms over your shoulders and around your neck. "Isn't dangling your feet over the edge a bit dangerous? We're so many stories up that-"

You cut him off. "Dave, since you and your Bro roughhouse and swordplay all of the time, I would have imagined that you would think that this is the _least _dangerous thing that I do."

"It's for your own safety, John," Dave says coolly as he tries to drag you towards him by lifting you up from under your armpits and pull you backwards, but you don't budge much.

You smirk with a hint of playfulness.

"John," Dave grits through his teeth, not anywhere near losing his cool. "You're too close to the-"

"You can come and hang out with me, Dave," you begin to say. "Be dangerous with me. Scared of heights?"

"Hell, no!" He bites his lip. "I suppose I should, but I don't want you to get hurt because if you do, I do not want to see you ending up in the fucking hospital, you got me?"

"Sure Dave," you say as you take his hand and pull down, motioning for him to sit down next to you.

"Fine, I shall sit next to you," Dave finally gives in. He sits down next to you and looks down upon the city as well. "It is a nice view," he admits.

"Of course it is, you're ridiculous," you continue. "If you didn't sit here with me, you would really be missing out."

Dave laughs. "I suppose I would have. Nice evening out, too. This was a good idea…"

You and Dave sit in silence for some time and listen to everything around you. A half an hour later, it quieted down some and the sun is upon the horizon. Beautiful hues of pink and orange reflect upon the windows of the many skyscrapers. Dave puts his arms around you and you look off at the distant horizon. _The perfect picture is complete._

"I'm not going back to Washington, Dave," you say as you sit on his lap and lean into him. Also, you are surprised that you can trust Dave to hold you, being so close to the edge, but you are somehow perfectly fine with it. Deep down, you have faith that he won't drop you and you allow him to hold you.

"I understand," Dave replies in your ear in a whisper. He kisses you on the cheek and strokes your hair.

"Washington was hell," you continue.

"It can be hell out here, too," Dave says as he gently places his other arm around you.

You roll your eyes up towards him. "I highly doubt it."

"Are you kidding me? It is like over a hundred fucking degrees out here."

You chuckle. "I like the heat. It was cold and rainy back in Washington. Heat is fine, Dave, and if you think that this place is hell, then, hell, I would rather go through hell with you."

"If that is what you desire," Dave sighs with contentment. "It will only get _hotter _out here the more and more we get into the summer."

"I can take it, Dave," you say.

"Really?"

"Really. Did Bro give you a hard time?"

"At first, yes," Dave sighs. "But he knows all of my secrets, so it isn't too much of a surprise to me."

"I see…"

"What other secrets are you holding in, Dave?" you ask.

"What are you talking about, John?" Dave asks, slightly appalled.

"Just _curious_," you state as you look up at him with this dorky grin in your face.

"Are you referring to what happened before I left?" Dave asks.

"Go on…"

"You mean, why I had to move to Texas?"

"Yeah, that," you say sheepishly.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Dave gives in. "My mom had alcohol addiction problems and words spread and for my protection, I moved in with my brother: long story short."

"Well, he gave you a better life than what you could have had," you explain. "Be thankful."

"I don't know what I would had done without him Dave says, sounding like he is doing some heavy thinking in the background. "I don't understand why my mom preferred to be drunk instead of provide for me."

"I don't understand some of the things that people do. Gosh, I'm sorry that you had to go through-"

"No need to feel sorry for me," Dave begins. "It happens and there is nothing that could had been done about it besides move from the situation. I came down here since this is where my Bro moved to after moving out of the house for the same exact reason."

"Oh," you understand. "I see."

"Yeah," Dave says. "You and my Bro are the two most important people in my life right now."

"Thanks Dave, it means a lot to me."


	7. Chapter 7

Dave grips your hand gently and leans back into you. He closes his eyes again and holds you close while running his fingers – massaging your hair with his other free hand and kisses you on the cheek.

You soak up the attention and enjoy the moment. Closing your eyes and sighing contently, you wrap your arms around Dave and drift off in his arms.

"You're so calm," Dave says.

"I tend to be," you whisper. "Except when I freak out."

"It is super-hot up here," Dave breathes into your ear as he presses his forehead into the back of your neck.

"It's over a hundred fucking degrees out here, Dave," you say informatively. "Does that clear anything up?" you ask as you look up at him wide-eyed.

He laughs.

"Let's go inside where the air conditioner is," you urge.

"But the view is nice up here," Dave says with the slightest hint of whining.

"It will be as equally as nice of a view if we were to look out the window of your apartment," you continue on. "As in, not sitting on the roof…"

"Fine, John," Dave gives in. "Whatever pleases you."

"Okay, but you have to get your arms off of me so I can get up," you say.

"What if I don't want to stop touching you, John?" Dave asks as he squeezes you tightly.

"I understand, but, Dave we are on a ledge," you begin. "If you get up while holding me, I could fall and it would all be over!"

"You won't fall, I'm protecting you," Dave says as he shifts his body over.

"Dave!" you exclaim in panic.

"What?"

"If you drop me-"

"But I didn't drop you," Dave says as he gets the rest of the way up on his feet, pulling you up. "I'm not going to…shit-"

"Dave!"

"What?"

"Don't you fucking do that again, that was scary!"

"Shhh, John, it is okay," Dave says.

"Dude, not okay!"

"We're safe," Dave says.

"You almost dropped me, though!"

"You have little faith. You don't trust me?" he asks.

"Of course I trust you."

"Then, trust me," Dave says as he puts his arms on your shoulders.

"I do, but I freak out so easily that-"

He puts a single finger over your mouth while holding you with his other arm to shush you. "Shhhh…"

"Okay," you manage to force out past his finger.

"Enough freaking out," Dave says. "You've done plenty of that for now."

"Okay, I admit it, I freak out and overthink things," you manage to say. "I _admitted _it."

"Good, john, good," Dave continues to say as he leans closer to you.

"Because whatever happens between us," he says. "You will have to have some faith. Have more faith."

"Who ever said that I didn't," you begin. "Have faith in you?" you ask as you give Dave a really tight hug. "Ha!"

"Whatever, John," Dave blows it off. "You win, we'll go inside."

"Just as I thought..."

You link fingers with Dave on your way back down the stairs to his floor. He unlocks his door with his key and motions you to get inside. Something is up.

"Bro won't be home until _later _tonight," Dave says.

"Yeah, so, now what?" you ask.

"What do you mean by, now what?" Dave asks as he comes up to you and holds you close.

"I don't know," you shrug it off. "What I meant was: what should we do?"

"What do you _think_ we should do?" Dave asks.

You watch Dave intently as his eyes swap back in forth between two places: The living room, which you are currently standing in and his bedroom. Oh dear god, not there. You shiver at the thought as you can already tell where this is going to go and Dave can sense the tension. Already you can read his thoughts as he gives you a slight push to go in.

"Dave, no," you say, but you sound so unsure, yet serious in a strange way as a chill runs down your spine.

"John, yes," Dave urges.

"But, Dave," you begin to say as he leads you in.

"What, you still have no _faith _in me?" Dave coos as he collapses on the bed and forces you down beside him.

"I love and trust you, Dave, but-"

"But, what?"

"I'm unsure about this," you begin.

"You're unsure about what?" Dave asks as he looks into your eyes. He still has not put his shades back on and you are assuming that he left them out on the roof or in the living room or someplace like that.

"You brought me in here for a reason," you begin.

"…and that reason is?" Dave urges.

You wonder why he is making you say everything that is obvious. Is he testing you? "Sex." You have never said a word that dirty aloud before. Fantasies such as that, no matter how nervous the real situation made you feel, tended to stay in your mind.

"Only if you want to take it that far," Dave says. "And if we do take it _that _far, then why not?"

Another chill runs down your spine. You have your thoughts, feelings, and urges, but something makes you a bit uncomfortable: _scared._

"Nothing to be scared of, John," Dave says as he ruffles your hair. It is like he can read your very thoughts.

You had never done anything like that before. What if you screw everything up? Then what would happen?

"Hey, John," Dave starts back up.

"What?" you ask. Your face is dripping with sweat due to the nervousness and overly-hot climate.

"Everything will be okay, John," Dave assures you. "I am just as nervous as you are," he goes on as his hands wander from your waist to your belt buckle.

You squirm out of a combination of nervousness and approval. "O-okay."

"Not much to freak out over," Dave insists and he undoes your pants.

You feel the tingling sensation: _down there. _Your feet go numb and you swear your arms go numb as well.

"Besides," Dave goes on as he inches your pants down off of your waist inch-by-inch, stopping at each increment and finally tossing them in some random direction across the room. "What do you have to lose?"

You are silent for a moment, and you then had the urge to choke it out. "My virginity," you finally say.

"Wait…so you've never done this before?" Dave asks as he undresses himself.

"No, Dave, I've told you this before," you go on as you prop yourself up against the heap of many pillows on Dave's bed and you wipe the sweat off of your forehead with your sleeve. You are only wearing your boxers and t-shirt by now, which sticks to your back due to you being sweaty.

"Well, not everyone talks about it," Dave said. "And honestly, I've never done this either…before."

"You _haven't?" _you asked. "I thought you-"

"No, John," Dave goes on. "I'm a virgin, too. I'll give away myself to you. To you and only to you and with nobody else."

You try to hide the slightest smile and fail to do so. "So we shall be two innocent clean souls making each other dirty?"

Dave leans over towards you. No article of clothing is attached to him. "Of course we are."

"We are inexperienced," you begin. "…and no offense, Dave, I'm as nervous as shit."

Dave leans over even more so that his face is almost pressed against your face.

"So am I," he finally says.

"Well, you certainly don't show it," you say as you place your hands on Dave's shoulders while rubbing his skin, which is surprisingly soft for being in the Texas heat for the past few years. His gaze switches to you to across the room in a flash. "Because you are so cool and collective-"

"Fuck."

"What's wrong, Dave?" you ask as you scoot backward to give him some space.

Dave's gaze doesn't move. "_Him._"

You follow Dave's line of vision and discover that Cal is on the nightstand, glaring at the two of you.

"Fuck, why did your bro put him in here?" you ask as Dave gets out to grab it. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"I think so," Dave says as he grabs Cal by the arm and looks at him directly in the face as if talking to a real person. "…and we can't get our sexy on with _you _in here."

You laugh and Dave sets Cal down right outside the door in the living room, face-down.

"Oh, Dave," you say as he closes the door behind him and he pushes the button in on the door handle that locks it.

He gets back up on the bed and practically straddles you. "Now, where were we?"

"In the beginning," you begin. You can feel your boxers constricting _everything _in there.

"Of being scared shitless?"

"That, too."

"There is nothing to be ashamed or afraid of," Dave says. "I love you and if you are terrible at what we think we are about to do, I wouldn't hate you for the world."

You smile and Dave touches his nose to yours.

"Just remember that, okay?" he finishes.

"Okay," you respond as Dave tilts his face sideways.

He closes his eyes, tilting his head and comes towards you. Your lips touch his and you latch on with your own. You allow him to prod around in your mouth with his tongue and your shirt brushes awkwardly against Dave's bare chest and he doesn't seem to care.

"Mmm, Dave," you moan as his fingers gently caress at your sides and the impacted spots on your skin shudder upon impact. He makes circular shapes using his fingers by the time he reaches your hipbones.

Dave lips detach from yours for a moment. "Take your shirt off," he demands coolly. "Sorry hun, all that rubbing and friction there will give me a burn."

Okay, so he did seem to care that you take the shirt off. It wasn't in a scary way, but more of a soothing "let's get on with this" sort of way in a soft voice.

You peel off your shirt, which turns inside out after you take it off and you toss it over the side of the bed.

"That's better now, isn't it?" he says huskily. "Go on with the rest, John."

"The rest?"

A moment later, you can tell that he is referring to your boxers. "Oh," you say.

"Are you that scared to go all-natural with me?" Dave asks. "Be organic with me."

You shake your head up and down and try not to laugh, as you feel insecure as Dave stretches out the elastic on your boxers.

"No," you finally say as a drop of sweat runs down your face. "Or at least I shouldn't be."

He pulls down your boxers so that they sit at your ankles and you kick them off and he re-positions himself just centimeters away from your crotch.

"That's better," he purrs into your ear. "Now, where were we?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Back to being scared," you admit in a voice almost as quiet as a whisper. You are not as scared as you were, but being your first time, this is going to be rather frightening.

"Just stop, John," Dave says coolly and calmly. "Anxiety isn't good for you. You don't see me freaking out."

"You're just too cool to freak out, so-"

"Shhhh…"

You breathe in deeply and exhale to calm yourself down. This is all two nerve-wracking and you calm down…slightly. This is everything to you. You are about to give yourself away to your best friend, now boyfriend, and you really don't want to fuck this up. You could lose everything. Actually, you need to stop thinking so negatively. Dave would never leave you. You are the center of his life and he has told you this multiple times, so why are you worrying? Also, losing the insecurities that you hold onto could also help the whole situation. You really need to learn to calm down sometimes.

"Nothing to lose, John, so shake it off, okay," Dave says as he hoovers over you. He lolls his tongue over a sensitive spot near your collarbone and looks into your eyes. "Relax, now."

He pets your cheek with his silky-smooth pointer finger. You relax with your back in the pillows and sink back in while Dave continues to shush you. He always has to come in and calm you down. You're such a derp and you make things awkward sometimes. You close your eyes momentarily to clear your mind and listen to his words.

"Are we going to do this or not?" Dave asks you.

"We're going to go for this, Dave," you say as you take Dave's hand in your sweaty palm. He doesn't tell you how gross that seems, as he is anxious himself, except for the fact that he won't admit it in words. He is all cool and collective and "Dave Strider" as usual.

"That is what I thought you would say," Dave whispers as he takes your other hand and he gently turns your palms upwards and you sink back into the pillow pile. "I have your back no matter what happens here, okay?"

"Okay, Dave," you say as he wraps his arms under yours, and gripping the skin of your shoulders and pulling you up slightly.

"Dave, are you trying to peel me?" you ask as you are forced into a sitting-up position. "Fuck, you are going to take my skin off…"

"Face it, John, you _love it _when I do that..."

In your mind, you do love it. Every time he touches you, even _there, _but at the moment, you are not very much for words. Obviously, he wants to play around rough and if that is what he wants, then so be it, but you finally muster out the words.

"I love it when you do that, Dave," you breathe as Dave leans back into you and his forehead fits perfectly on the bridge of your nose and his lips touch your chin. He remains there for a few seconds and you can feel his heated breath sink into your neck and chest and your body reacts by quivering.

He leans back into you, heated chest pressing up against your own and forcing you to fall back into the pillow mountain and he presses his lips up against your own and you can feel his tongue sliding in and out of your mouth. His heated cheeks radiate against your cheekbones.

"Mmm, Dave," you moan as you come up for air and nearly make noises in the back of your throat. They finally arise, but they are almost inaudible due to the beating of your own heart and the ringing in your ears and you didn't know that you were capable of making sounds like that. It shocks you a bit in a 'holy shit, that came from me?' sort of way.

Dave's soft blonde hair touches the bridge of your nose and he straddles you, lips detaching from your own. "Come in."

"Oh, Dave," you whisper. Looking down for a split second, you catch your breath, but your glasses fall from your face.

"Oops, sorry," you say. "Fuck."

Your glasses have fallen one of the most awkward spots that you would want to touch. That _intimate _part that he would have stuck into you a couple of seconds ago if you weren't being a klutzy derp, and you are like, "dear god…"

Dave smirks a bit. You can tell what he is thinking as he genuinely chuckles softly. "See something that you like _down there_?"

Like what the two of you are doing isn't both dirty and pleasurable, but to pick up your "accident-in-the-making" from there, was just a bit weird…

"You know it," you moan as Dave grinds into you after you shove your glasses somewhere onto the floor in the dim room. You can hear them fall straight down onto the floor with a thunk and Dave continues to invest his focus on you.

"Nymmph," you force out as Dave leans upon you, looking into your eyes as you are forced down upon the bed, spreading your legs apart.

"John.."

You can feel the bed springs in the bed mattress as they press against your back and Dave thrusting into you as he begins to have an orgasm as you can feel him slide in and out of you and you didn't think that men could actually have those.

"Oh, fuck," Dave moans as he slides his fingers on your hips and you use Dave's shoulders to support yourself as you lean up.

You somehow manage to smile a bit, even though having Dave's member sliding in and out of you and the movements hurt like hell, they were somehow pleasurable at the same time. How does this happen? _"Oh my god, is this really happening?" _You continue to be mushed into the blankets as Dave towers over you, fingers violently tearing into the sheets and gripping the fabric.

You lean in and tilt your head slightly and kiss Dave on the lips and he wraps his arms around your shoulders and you do the same in turn as he continues to crash his lips into yours.

"Fuck yes, this would happen," Dave breathes huskily into the back of your throat and the sound waves from his voice ring in your mind through the pounding in your ears. He opens his eyes and his lashes brush up against your forehead as his lips part from yours. "This is starting to hurt like a bitch. Oh my god, John. Oh, fuck…"

"Wha?-"

"Fuck."

"Oh my god, Dave, I'm sorry," you apologize. "If it hurts, then get your dick out of my ass! Oh my god, Dave are you okay?"

You are caked in sweat all over your face as much as he is and you feverishly sit back up as he pulls out.

"No need to apologize, John," Dave says as he falls on his back and breathes heavily in a way that almost represents hyperventilation.

"No, Dave, I hurt you, I-"

A tear escapes the corner of Dave's eye as he begins to catch his breath and the double circles of sparkling crimson look back up at you in longing…filled with tears.

"Dave, fuck, honestly!" you exclaim as you become wide-eyed in shock.

"No, John, it is supposed to hurt your first time," Dave says, chest rising up and down rapidly. "Blame nature."

Your eyes fill with tears as you reach on the floor quickly and put your boxers back on. You knew that this would end horrendously. After this, you throw yourself at Dave and you can't help yourself. Bursting into tears you lie on top of him, clinging to him with your arms wrapped around his shoulders. He seems to be sweating painfully, but you don't care how unclean this seems. You would do anything for Dave because you love him and that is final.

"No, Dave," you sob into his shoulder, tears dripping from your skin to his and then soaking the sheets on the bed. "Just, I can't, I feel like I ruined this for-"

"Shhh, John, no," Dave responds as he puts his arms around you. His neck leans up and he kisses you on the forehead and at least his breathing is back to normal. "Calm down."

"Okay, Dave."

"Chill out," he breathes. "If not for your sake, for mine."

"Okay," you sniff as you lie there in silence for the next couple of minutes, holding Dave, cuddling him, being close. With that, you look at him and he smiles at you.

"Everything is good, John, okay?"

You nod and he gets back up and clothes himself and sits back on the bed. He motions for you to sit his lap and you do so, leaning the side part of his face into his chest and the front part into his arm for support. As you do so, you can feel the sides of your hair being messed up, but you don't care.

"I know what it is like to suffer, John," Dave whispers soothingly. "So I know that none of this is easy for you."

"Mmmhmmm," you let out as you nod and bury your head upon his shoulder.

"You breathe like an angel," Dave softly says as he massages your back. "Mmmm."

In the distant part of the house, you hear the door open and you instantly become alert. "Shit, is that your bro?" you ask.

"Yeah, don't worry, it is fine…"

Outside the room, you can hear the sounds of shoes on carpet and the setting down of paper grocery bags in the kitchen. A moment of pausing.

"Cal, why are you on the floor?" you hear the muffled voice through the walls.

"Well I wonder fucking why," Dave responds to nobody in particular.

You laugh softly, wiping away the rest of your tears with your sleeve.

"Fuck, Cal, you were supposed to stay on the flippin'-"

The door flings open and he is standing in the door-frame.

"Nightstand?" Dave asks and finishes.

"Who gave you two the permission to ransack in here like a couple of dicks?"

Dave shrugs and you wrap your arms around his shoulders. "Nobody in particular," he responds. "…and my room, too! Privacy, bro!"

Dirk says nothing and begins to pull off what looks like clear tape off of Cal's fabric.

"What?" you asked.

"Fuck, where did the cap go?" Dirk asks.

Cap?

"Bro, what were you doing all of this time?" Dave asks. "Were you even out?"

"Nope."

"Dude, were you?" Dave begins.

"Whoa," you say.

"Spying on us?"

"What?" you exclaim.

"Damn, if that camera would have stayed attached to Cal and he remained in here, that sex tape would have been the shit for my shmuppet-porn gig," he goes on.

Your jaw drops and Dave's face twists.

"Bro, you disgusting fucking-"


End file.
